https://youtu.be/QPM7UZtLBOI
At Christmas we celebrate the first advent of the God man Savior our Lord Jesus Christ. This event was planned from eternity past and prophesied from the time of the fall of Adam and Ishah and their ejection from the Garden of Eden Gen 3:15; as God's remedy for sin that was the reason for the fall of mankind. Luke 19:10:
The decree from eternity past is revealed in Psa 2:7; I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Heb 1:1-6; quotes this passage and elaborates on God's decree regarding the Seed of the Woman from eternity past.
It was first prophesy given to Adam and Eve after the fall in Gen 3:15; The prophesy is augmented in Isa 9:6-7; and Isa 7:14; NASB The word "Immanuel" is a transliteration from the Hebrew that means " God with us" referring to our Lord Jesus in hypostatic union.
Additional prophesies reveal that He would be a descendant of David 2Sam 7:12-17; Psalms 89:33-37; who was a descendant of Judah Gen 49:10; and He would be born in David's home town of Bethlehem Micah 5:2;
At the right time, after God had established His lineage, the location of His birth and His nation Israel and the timeline in Daniel's prophesy God sent his Son born to a Jewish woman who was under the Law of Moses to redeem us from our sins. Gal 4:4-5;
This brings us to Jesus' birth that is recorded in the Gospels. The time reference for Jesus' birth starts with Elizabeth 's pregnancy with John the Baptizer. Luke 1:24-27; Net note 85
We see here that Jesus' family lived in Nazareth but He would be born in Bethlehem that was about 65 air miles away.
Luke 1:28-33; The angel Gabriel tells Mary that she had found "favor with God" that because of this she will become pregnant and bear the Son of God who will sit on His ancestor David's throne and rule Jacob (Israel) forever.
The word translated "favor" is the Greek word "charis" that means grace so in being chosen to be the woman (Gen 3:15;) who would be the mother of Jesus' humanity Mary was the object of God's grace and because of that she was to bear the Son of the Most High (God).
Luke 1:34; Mary asks how this can happen since she has never known a man. Net note 111
Luke 1:35; The angel tells her that God the Holy Spirit will be the source of the 23 male chromosomes required for her pregnancy and that for that reason the Holy One being born will be called the Son of God.
This is one of the passages that reveals the personality of God the Holy Spirit as well as the reason for the impeccability of Jesus' humanity. Since there was no natural born human male in his genetic code there was no inherited OSN or sin. Rom 5:12-15;
Luke 1:36-37; Gabriel validates his statement by revealing that Her childless aunt Elizabeth had miraculously conceived in her old age because nothing is impossible with God and it was the right time.
Luke 1:38; Mary agrees to be the mother of Jesus' humanity, "according to your Word."
She knew that Joseph would almost put her away because of the false accusations against her and she would be the object of intense vilification, slander and maligning and was at risk of being stoned to death because that was the ordinance in the Mosaic Law and the custom at the time in Samaria and Judea. (Lev 20:10;)
In spite of this she was willing for God's will to be done in her life regardless of the adversity and suffering it would cause her.
When God calls His people to significant roles in His plan they always suffer and are deserted because we live in the devil's world.
Mary was no exception and when we are called to play a role in God's plan we should not be surprised when we also suffer and are maligned, vilified and deserted by people including people we love if they don't understand what's really happening.
We see the response she expected from Joseph in Matt 1:18-22; Net note 14
Matt 1:23; restates the prophesy that was first revealed in Isa 7:14;
Matt 1:24-25; When Joseph understood what was really happening he changed his mind.
To get the proper sequence of the timeline we jump to the parallel passage in Luke 2 that explains why they were in Bethlehem instead of at home in Nazareth when Jesus was born.
Luke 2:1-6; Net note 13; Map 5-B1 The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem could go up over the mountains through Samaria or down along the Jordan River to Jericho and up the mountain to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
The mountain route was shorter but more difficult and it would take them through the gentile area of Samaria so they most likely traveled down to the Jordan River and then south along the Jordan River to Jericho then up the mountain to Jerusalem and south to Bethlehem a distance of 90-100 miles.
Joseph would have walked and Mary would have ridden on a donkey and the trip would have taken them about 5 days. The reason they had to go to Bethlehem from Nazareth where their house was because of the politicians demand for a census for the purpose of taxation.
Luke 2:7; It makes sense that in the devil's world God's lamb (Jesus) would be born in a barn and laid in a manger. Net note 22
The only reason there was no place for Jesus' family to stay was because of the requirement that everyone travel to their birth city at the same time. This created an artificial demand for rooms that temporarily exceeded supply.
The politicians demanded that they travel away from their nice cozy house in Nazareth to Bethlehem so they could be taxed.
They were not indigent or migrants as today's Marxist politicians allege and even the Marxist pope has alleged with lies and deceit and evil fake news propaganda falsely comparing Jesus' family's situation to destitute people who are swarming into the USA and Western Europe because of the criminal Marxist politicians refusal to enforce the law.
Jesus' family was not indigent or refugees, they had a home and all of the resources that were needed to travel without having to rely on other people for anything.
Luke 2:8-20; The shepherds were watching the sheep that would be used for the ritual sacrifices in the temple in nearby Jerusalem. Net note 24
Luke 2:21; Jesus was circumcised on the 8th day according to the protocol of the Abrahamic covenant that we have been studying (Gen 17:9-12;) and given the name that was specified by the angel in Luke 1:31;
Luke 2:22-24; They must have decided to stay in Bethlehem instead of returning to Nazareth since they would have had to travel back to Jerusalem for the purification ceremony at the temple. Lev 12:2-8;
Luke 2:25-38; records events that occurred while they were in Jerusalem for the purification ceremony 40 days after Jesus was born.
Matt 2:1-12; The Magi come from Chaldea to Bethlehem to honor Jesus. This is how God provided the funds necessary for them to travel to Egypt and live there until Herod dies.
Matt 2:13-15; Joseph and his family flee to Egypt until Herod dies
Matt 2:16-18; Herod kills all of the male children in Bethlehem who are less than two years old in an attempt to kill Jesus.
Matt 2:19-23; Luke 2:39; Joseph moves his family back to their home in Nazareth after Herod dies.
Luke 2:40; Jesus grows up in Nazareth where he and his family perfectly comply with the protocol of God's ritual plan. Luke 2:41; so that He is qualified to fulfill God's plan for Him to be the lamb of God who removes the barrier between God and man by being judged for the sins of the whole world. John 1:29; Rom 5:8; 2Cor 5:21; Rom 10:4; John 3:16;
Merry Christmas